Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

Al Qaeda suspect pleads guilty to assaultNEW YORK A purported founding member of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization pleaded guilty yesterday to assaulting a prison guard who was stabbed in the eye.Mamdouh Mahmud Salim entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan before Judge Deborah A. Batts.Salim had been scheduled to go on trial next week on charges that he maimed the guard in November 2000 as part of a wider plot to take hostages and win the release of other prisoners at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.At the time of the attack on Correction Officer Louis Pepe, Salim was awaiting trial on other conspiracy charges in the August 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Those charges against him are still pending and are not covered by his plea.

Minnelli's stepmother sues her for abuseLOS ANGELES Liza Minnelli's 94-year-old stepmother has sued her for elder abuse and breach of contract, claiming the performer has neglected her.The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Superior Court claims that Lee Anderson Minnelli was guaranteed housing in the will of her late husband, Vincente Minnelli. Liza Minnelli, his daughter with Judy Garland, sold the Beverly Hills home and "has instructed her representatives to remove Lee by whatever means necessary," according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit also claims that Liza Minnelli failed to comply with an agreement to keep the home in habitable condition. The electricity was shut off March 27 and the gardener and pool man also have been fired, the lawsuit contends."While defendant is honeymooning all over the world, having fed 850 of her closest friends a 12-foot cake, plaintiff is alone in a cold, dark house," the lawsuit states. Liza Minnelli married producer David Gest last month in New York.

Archdiocese turns over list of abuse casesNEW YORK The Archdiocese of New York has given the Manhattan District Attorney's Office a list of cases involving priests who have been accused of sexual misconduct with youngsters over the past four decades.The information included "the date and location of the alleged activity and the outcome of any legal proceedings that may have been taken, along with the status of the accused, if it is known," the archdiocese said in a statement yesterday.Joseph Zwilling, an archdiocesan spokesman, said the information was given to District Attorney Robert Morgenthau because the files are located in his district. Mr. Morgenthau will forward relevant information to district attorneys in other jurisdictions within the archdiocese, Mr. Zwilling said.

Court suspends lawyer's licenseDES MOINES, Iowa The Iowa Supreme Court suspended a lawyer's license yesterday for submitting a $122,000 bill for work that included a plagiarized legal brief.An ethics panel of the Iowa State Bar Association had recommended that William J. Lane's license be suspended for three months, but the high court doubled that to six months.His fee award in the case, a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, was reduced to $20,000.

Ex-stripper mayor voted out of officeDENVER Voters in the mountain town of Georgetown, Colo., recalled their ex-stripper mayor Tuesday, perhaps ending her brief but colorful political career, which included charges she falsely reported she was the victim of a knife attack.Koleen Brooks, 37, said she was glad to find out what voters really thought of her during the first year of her two-year term.She said she would consider her options when next year's election rolls around. The mayor, who worked as an exotic dancer 15 years ago at Shotgun Willie's in Denver, had feuded with other town officials during her year in office.